<VV> EMERGENCY INFO--BLOWBY DAnger--WAS AIR CLEANERS

[Chuck Kubin]

    Hey Brent, 
  You provided extremely important info, unknowingly timed to hit exactly my problem for the first time iin 37 years. 
  After correcting 17 problems contributing to Orange Crush overheating, I'm back on the road. I also replaced the heater hoses and repaired a small hole in the plastic duct.
  Just Saturday my grandson and I used the car for banging around town.  When the temperature bottomed out and it started to snow, I hit the heat and defrosters. We instantly reacted to the oily-gassy-smelly fumes filliing the interior, and as it was very much worse than anything in my experience with Corvairs, I didn't know what to think.
  Your post was right on the money.  I had the air cleaner off because I have noticeable blowby and am awaiting time to do a leakdown compression test. True to what you said, the fan sucks the blowby down into the turkey roaster, and in this case, pushes it right into the interior!!!!!!!!  I didn't make the comnnection until picking your post out of the dozen or so air cleaner answers.
  The only GOOD part of this is if there is a lot of blowby getting into the heat system, you'll know it pretty quickly. The carbon monoxide is odorless and colorless, but you'll certainly smell everything else. It is MUCH worse and troublesome than any other of the usual suspects. My recently-leakproof heater system made the problem worse. Thanks, Bret, that is some very valuable information!!  My grandson and I both thank you from the bottom of our hearts!
   
  Chuck Kubin
  Living to drive another day
   
   
   
   
  My main reservation about alternate from stock air cleaner setups is the
lousy PCV adaptations many poeple do, that are essentially suicidal- you'll
often see PCV fumes being blown right into the engine compartment or
obviously leaking etc. Crankcase blowby is very noxious exhaust gas and is
loaded with carbon monoxide, and a dangerous compound, even a very trifling
amount leaking where it could enter the engine cooling air can potentially
have fatal results.

Whatever you do, the fumes from the PCV stream coming out of the turkey
roaster have to be prevented at all costs from entering the cooling air and
heater, they're extremely poisonous and could readily kill you. Make sure
you either burn them by drawing them positively into the intake air or vent
them (for example, via road draft tube) where they could never be drawn back
into the car.

Aside from that consideration, theres little apparent benefit to the
individual air cleaner assemblies but they look nice, Matt Nall's suggestion
about raising the air cleaner crossover may be the best bang for the buck
performance wise, he posted a link a short time ago with photos.

Good luck,
Brent Covey
Vancouver BC



			
---------------------------------
 Yahoo! Mail
 Use Photomail to share photos without annoying attachments.